Epitaxial growth and atomic-scale study of type-II Dirac semimetal <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mi>T</mml:mi><mml:mtext>−</mml:mtext><mml:msub><mml:mi>NiTe</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math> film

By means of molecular beam epitaxy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy, we successfully prepare type-II Dirac semimetal $1T\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{NiTe}}_{2}$ films and investigate their surface morphology, electronic structure, and topological characteristics on the atomic scale. Atomically flat ${\mathrm{NiTe}}_{2}$ films can be readily prepared on ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$(001) substrates at $\ensuremath{\sim}210{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$. For ${\mathrm{NiTe}}_{2}$ multilayers ($\ensuremath{\sim}17$ layers), the predominant surface defect is identified as intercalated Ni atoms inside the van der Waals gap. Besides, we observe spin-splitting and resonant topological surface states near ${E}_{\text{F}}$ and at $\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{-}0.65$ eV, respectively. They are suppressed at the step edges and in ultrathin monolayer and bilayer films. By exploring the quasiparticle interference, we visualize a backscattering suppression within $140\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}40$ meV in multilayer ${\mathrm{NiTe}}_{2}$, which is associated possibly with the type-II Dirac node.